Vicky Bowman Explained

Vicky Bowman
Office:UK Ambassador to Myanmar
Term Start:2002
Term End:2006
Predecessor:Sir John Jenkins (diplomat)
Successor:Mark Canning
Primeminister:Tony Blair
Birth Name:Victoria Jane Robinson
Birth Date:12 June 1966
Nationality:British
Education:Oxford High School
Alma Mater:Pembroke College, Cambridge (BA Hons, Natural Sciences - Pathology)
Spouse:Htein Lin
Children:1
Father:Neville Robinson
Relatives:Andrew Robinson (brother)

Victoria Jane Bowman (née Robinson; born 12 June 1966) is a British former diplomat who served as UK Ambassador to Myanmar between 2002 and 2006.[1] She has been Director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) since July 2013.[1]

She was educated at The Dragon School, Oxford High School, Pembroke College, Cambridge and the University of Chicago.[2]

"Bowman " is the family name of her first husband. Bowman first served as a junior diplomat in what was then called Burma in 1990.[3]

On 24 August 2022, she was detained at her home in Yangon along with her second husband Htein Lin, a prominent artist and former political prisoner, and charged with immigration offences.[4] [5] [6] In September 2022, she was sentenced to one year in prison for staying at an address different to the one she had registered under.[7]

On 17 November 2022, the Myanmar military released Bowman along with 6,000 prisoners to mark Myanmar National Day, she was subsequently deported.[8]

She was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2023 Birthday Honours.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Vicky Bowman . . 25 August 2022.
  2. "Bowman, Victoria Jane, (Vicky), (born 12 June 1966), Director, Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, since 2013." WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 1 Dec. 2007
  3. Web site: Vicky Bowman: UK former ambassador jailed in Myanmar . . 2 September 2022.
  4. Web site: Britain's former Myanmar envoy detained in Yangon-sources . . 25 August 2022.
  5. Web site: Vicky Bowman: UK ex-ambassador to Myanmar arrested . . 25 August 2022.
  6. Web site: UK’s former Myanmar ambassador arrested in Yangon, report says . . 25 August 2022.
  7. Web site: Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi imprisoned for three more years as former UK ambassador to Myanmar Vicky Bowman also jailed . . 2 September 2022.
  8. Web site: Vicky Bowman: Former UK ambassador among prisoners to be freed in Myanmar . BBC News . November 17, 2022.
  9. Web site: Outstanding contributions to human rights recognised on Overseas and International Honours List . . 20 June 2023.